Tag Archives: Merchandise

‘If you build it, they will come” goes the old advertising adage, and when merchandisers saw what an impact that canceled sci-fi show was having on people in the 1970’s, they could smell a cash cow a mile away. They’d slap the Star Trek name on almost anything, even when it clearly has nothing to do with it! (note the pinball game). Now how many of these sold is another matter, but here’s more in my ongoing search for Trekmerchandise and memorabilia. Did you have any of these?

Let Spock and the captain help you with the dishes after the year ends!

Star Trek TOS never looked like this pinball game!

I’m guessing the manufacturers of the game couldn’t get licensed characters, so they just borrowed the name. Looks like fun though!

Well this is wicked cool! Although I didn’t have one of these, we did have a black portable cassette player which we’d record whistling sounds into to make it our ‘tricorder’

Great box too!

I saw these in drugstores all the time. The Trek logo here is the same as the one used for the Gold Key comics that had come out in the 60’s.

I’ve never seen or heard this album, but would be curious to hear if it’s any good. Great artwork, Spock as a hound-dog!

This Halloween costume is a bit better than the ones that came out in the 60’s (although I was not aware that crew members had hot pink uniforms as seen on the box art!

Like this:

Okay, so it isn’t really a battle, but it’s definitely a siren call to the hearts of Trekkies everywhere; lifelike Star Trek dolls that celebrate the series’ 50th anniversary. From Mattel to Matchbox, every toy dealer wants a piece of the anniversary cake!

Mattel’s 50th Anniversary Star Trek Set

Just this week it Mattel released pictures of its new line of commemorative Star Trek Barbies dolls: A trio featuring Kirk, Spock, and Uhura. I’m happy to see Uhura in the mix, but the first question popping up all over is “Where’s McCoy and Scotty?” And I agree, but I’d amend that to “Where’s Everyone Else?”

Now I confess, for a while there, I was a Barbie collector (I still have a dozen or so unboxed, sleeping peacefully in a storage bin). But I’ve seen other movie and TV-based Barbie collections over the years; Twilight, Mad Men, Hunger Games, and often the company has created more than 3 characters from each franchise. I just hope they’ll consider adding McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Chapel and Rand too!

At $35 each, these Mattel ones are not top-of-the-line, but they do have beautiful facial recreations of Bill, Leonard, and Nichelle. I love that they included Uhura’s classic green hoop earrings and her distinct eye makeup. I only wish they gave her seamless bendable knees, as they do in regular Barbie dolls. I think she would have looked more realistic with the wonderful curvy body mold of the new dolls coming out. The Kirk doll has Bill’s intense stare, and Spock is a handsome recreation of young Nimoy (right down to his eye- shadow)

Of course this isn’t the first time Mattel has aimed itself at Trek fans — back in 1996, they produced a cute Star Trek Barbie and Ken. Barbie’s high ponytail with a braid was a direct rip-off of Yeoman Martha Landon from The Apple, (unfortunately, Celeste Yarnall didn’t receive a cent). Ken was the standard Ken, but with a ready Kirk grin. The box featured a backdrop still of K& S on the bridge, making it perfect for display.

Therese’s son Matt as a toddler playing with his Star Trek Ken. (2002)

Mattel gambled (and lost) a bundle in overproducing the Anniversary set; they must have presumed that they’d make a fortune off of rabid fans, but it didn’t come to pass, and you can still find quite a few on secondary markets. It’s a cute set, I actually had one, and let my boys play with them when they were youngsters.

The Mattel Vina Barbie, exclusively sold at the San Diego Comic Con.

Not to be outdone– the San Diego Comic Con has two retro Trek dolls to die for. The first is another from Mattel, but only exclusive to Comic Con attendees. 😦 It’s a fully articulated Vina from The Cage! ($50) It’s more a green Orion than Susan Oliver, but it’s a joy to see; especially the recreation of the lizard dress.

Then from (Mattel’s) Hot Wheels, there’s a diorama of Nimoy dressed as Spock, leaning against his beloved ’64 Buick Rivera. It’s the 3D version of this iconic photograph. These are both fabulous!

Spock Wheels Hot Wheels! Another Exclusive from SDCC

For even higher-end merchandise, there’s two companies with dazzling, and remarkably realistic figures. There are figures of Kirk and Spock from Quantum Mechanix. These beauties will set you back @ $180 each, but if you’re die-hard enough for incredible likenesses, this is for you. The figures are thoroughly articulated with all the accoutrements of phaser, communicator, and tricorder. One surprising aspect of the costuming is that includes the rarely seen light brown phaser belt that hung under the uniforms in season 1! Truly remarkable, heck, they even have 5 0’clock shadow!

It even appears that the insignias are sewn on!

Not to be outdone, but the next set is my favorite of all– from the Mezco One: Twelve Collective comes the ultimate and truly most astonishing Trek figures I’ve ever seen! There are three figures so far, Kirk, Spock, and Sulu, and I do believe there are more to come. They each have great accessories and a stand with the Trek delta patch on them, and Sulu even gets a sword! But the best part is that they have interchangeable hands and heads! (two facial expressions each). The likenesses are so lovingly rendered it’s like they’ve walked right off the screen! Kirk’s face has both serious and gentle Kirk-smirk expressions, Sulu has a serious helm expression and a true Sulu smile, and Spock’s has a cool demeanor or his ultimate arched eyebrow! Spock also has mind-meld hands, communicator/phaser hands, and of course the Vulcan Salute) Can’t wait to see what they’d do with McCoy, Uhura, and the rest… (Spock and Sulu are out now, Kirk in July)

Mezco has also made a masterful limited edition replica of Spock as he appeared in The Cage. The details are meticulous as always, right down to the shorter haircut, away-team jacket, and vintage phaser. Just gorgeous.

All I can say after seeing these is that one is never too old to play with dolls!

Hey Everyone! How you all doing? Did you have a nice summer? Did you get outside? Did you see the Super Blood moon on Sunday night? Any adventures? Romances? New recipes?

The bulk of my summer was spent on two main things; getting myself into better shape and helping our son get his driver’s license. Happy to report we succeeded on both accounts; my son got his license and I’m feeling great!

I had a few adventures — I had gone to the Museum of The Moving Image in NYC to see the Mad Men exhibit (now closed) What a joy to see many of the iconic costumes and recreations of the sets in person! But to my delight, there was also an exhibit of classic TV and Movie memorabilia, and what should I see there but some awfully familiar Star Trek stuff from my youth!

One big surprise was seeing the red spaceman costume Robin Williams wore as Mork in Mork and Mindy, not just because it was worn by the wonderful Williams, but also because of its relation to Star Trek! Did you know that Mork’s red uniform was originally worn by Colonel Green in the Trek episode The Savage Curtain? (But to be fair, I’d take Mork over Green anyday!) Hmm, better add this costume recycle to that article I wrote a while back…)

Col. Green in his original red uniform in “The Savage Curtain” and Mork in his modified version of the same costume in Mork and Mindy. Mork’s costume removed the small accouterments from the shoulders and added the silver triangle, but kept the collar and cuff detail’ later adding the black epaulets.

The Mork/Green Costume as is appears today at the MOTMI

And as if seeing an actual Trek costume wasn’t enough, I found a whole mess of Trek stuff in the section “Behind the Screen” which featured lots of Trek and other baby boomer series merchandising (Jetsons, Man from UNCLE, you name it!) There were also many dolls from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and even several fanzines, as well as models, puzzles and toys. I admit, seeing some of the Trek items there from the 1970’s, including a mug and a Mego Spock doll that I still actually have at home made me feel a little old! But nice to know that some of my old stuff is considered museum worthy!

I gotta tell you, merchandising for Star Trek went crazy in the 1970s — and not all of it great quality — so often the uniform colors were wrong (Spock as a redshirt!) or promo photos were printed backward. But as long as it had those Trek characters on it (especially Mr. Spock) it was a slam dunk for merchandising! The only thing I didn’t see were Star Trek Colorforms (Remember Colorforms?) Enjoy the pics!

Trek Merchandising exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image

A squeezable soft Spock Doll from ST:TMP

A grouping of big and small ST:TMP dolls

Mego Trek dolls, including the rare Klingon, Gorn, and Cheron doll, and a plastic mug and bowl set (I have that very mug and the Mego Spock!)

Animated Trek puzzle in a can and a really nice Romulan Bird of Prey model.

Trek party plates & napkins (Spock a Red Shirt!) and simple puzzle.

Stickers, and a Trek ‘movie viewer’. Would have loved to tear this open! (note backward photo of K, S, & M)

Necklaces, pins, and a Trek watch (basically anything that could be utilized into Trek merchandise was gold in the 70’s) Some Early Fanzines (beginnings of Spirk?)

So did you have a good summer too? Miss me? 😉 Next time- Seeing the Space Shuttle Enterprise!